South Africa: Family Confident Tutu Will Recover - Daughter

South Africa: Family Confident Tutu Will Recover - Daughter

By Tammy Petersen, News24

Cape Town — While Leah Tutu and her family were "anxious" about former Archbishop Desmond Tutu's health, they were positive he would pull through, their daughter Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu said on Thursday.

Tutu, 83, was admitted to a Cape Town hospital on Tuesday after oral antibiotics failed to treat a persistent infection, she confirmed at a media briefing.

"He is now receiving intravenous antibiotic treatment," she said, explaining that the course could take three to five days.

Mpho did not confirm the infection, but described it as "below the belt".

It was unrelated to the prostate cancer Tutu has been battling for the past decade. This remains dormant thanks to his medication, she said.

While her father had a deep passion for championing many causes and injustices, he would have to be less active.

"My father is not quite as young as he looks, so it has to be recognised that his energy is waning a little bit," she said. "That is not to say he will be "dropping off the scene.

"He is slowing down and that is good and appropriate.

"In my father's lexicon, yes is yummy... His yeses may now be a bit more sparsely sprinkled, but his prayer and commitment are always with those concerned."

Tutu's hospitalisation has made headlines around the world, with social media awash with well wishes for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

While the face of the foundation would not be part of its Mandela Day plans, the team of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation would hand out food in the waiting rooms of Groote Schuur Hospital on Friday, said Mpho, who only two weeks ago officiated at her parent's renewal of their wedding vows as they celebrated 60 years of marriage.